ISTANBUL

More than 50 children were killed in a devastating weekend of violence in northern Gaza that left many humanitarian workers at risk, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"This has already been a deadly weekend of attacks in north Gaza. In the past 48 hours alone, over 50 children have reportedly been killed in Jabalia, where strikes leveled two residential buildings sheltering hundreds of people," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement released Saturday.

UNICEF reported that a personal vehicle belonging to one of its staff members involved in a polio vaccination campaign came under fire from what appeared to be a quadcopter while they were driving in Jabalia al-Nazla.

Although the car was damaged, the staff member was unharmed but "deeply shaken."

Another strike injured three children near a vaccination clinic in Sheikh Radwan as the polio campaign continued in the area, according to Russell.

"These attacks on Jabalia, the vaccination clinic, and the UNICEF staff member are yet further examples of the grave consequences of the indiscriminate strikes on civilians in the Gaza Strip," she said, describing the escalation as part of "one of the darkest periods of this terrible war."

Russell also emphasized that international humanitarian law mandates the protection of civilians and civilian structures, including humanitarian workers and residential buildings.

She noted that "displacement or evacuation orders do not permit any party to the conflict to regard all individuals or objects in an area as military targets."

Russell also condemned the repeated disregard for these principles, resulting in "tens of thousands of children killed, injured and deprived of essential services needed for survival."

UNICEF has called on Israel to conduct an "immediate investigation" into the incident involving its staff and urged accountability for those responsible.

"UNICEF also calls on member states to use their influence to ensure respect for international law, prioritizing the protection of children," Russell said, adding that it is "beyond time to end this war."